Man Plans... ( to go to the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale) ....and God Laughs.....
There are small victories we each try to attain in our day to day existence and it is those small victories that keep us, we hope from, well....losing our minds. Perhaps you are now associating that statement to me and concluding that I have had very FEW small victories.... and honestly speaking...you could.... be right.
I'm giggling at typing that...heaven knows all of these years focusing on this brand alone and sharing all of the "news" has me scratching my head for sure at the chaos it can sometimes bring.
And twice a year....maybe more...maybe three times a year I look forward to the "fun chaos" that is offered. One being candle day, usually held on the first week of December { usually around my birthday on the weekend....in case you want to jot that down } And the other two days are the beginning of the Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sale held in June through July and again December 26th until they run out of ....stuff.... or otherwise known as January.
Years ago....I mean many years ago since I have been a lover of this brand for a VERY LONG TIME NOW, you would arrive at the sale at the opening of the gate and you were not alone standing there waiting. There were treasures to be found everywhere and you would dig through tables of the red cardboard boxes that are surrounded by yellow ducky marketing hoping to find that one thing you thought you couldn't live without all while shaking gooey lotion or shower gel off of your hand. Yuck.
Your blue mesh bag would be filled to the brim with 75% off candles and other items and you would happily stand in line...a long line...for your turn to checkout and then share your find on social media.....where everyone would oooh and ahhhh all while talking trash on what you found.
See, fun stuff. :)
Now who does not love that? Right?
If you are fortunate enough to live close by Bath and Body Works Stores that have a White Barn store close by or attached to it, you are one lucky yellow ducky because you get the primo stuff that not everyone else gets at fantastic prices at this sale. Well, all year long you get that anyway with all of the home decor offerings to be had over regular ole B&BW stores, but I digress.
Okay, wait....let me get this out again for the record....June, 2018....I hope that one day...soon, B&BW brand recognizes the want of all of their customers to be able to have the same benefits that a select few now do.
Okay, I think I am done...for now. Anyway, back to the sale.
I planned to go for gate opening and like everything that you plan, you sometimes hit a bump in the road and it doesn't happen as you thought. My plans changed because I woke at 7am with a Migraine from Hell.
How can you be sleeping one moment, dreaming of tables of goodies and the next moment your head feels like it is going to explode? That is what I had. I couldn't see straight...or walk straight... It came from the back of my neck, up and around the top of my head and into my poor bad eye.
Fun stuff. It took over seven hours to ease up enough for me to move, stand up and drink some broth and I decided to try....try to go out of town 40 mi. to check out the tables at the Semi Annual.
Crazy, I know.
If you ever had a Migraine, you know that your sense of smell is heightened and works AGAINST you in every way possible.
If you have ever gone into a Bath and Body Works Store you will notice they SMELL of every possible fragrance on the shelf. Ha Ha.
I'm giggling at typing that...heaven knows all of these years focusing on this brand alone and sharing all of the "news" has me scratching my head for sure at the chaos it can sometimes bring.
And twice a year....maybe more...maybe three times a year I look forward to the "fun chaos" that is offered. One being candle day, usually held on the first week of December { usually around my birthday on the weekend....in case you want to jot that down } And the other two days are the beginning of the Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sale held in June through July and again December 26th until they run out of ....stuff.... or otherwise known as January.
Years ago....I mean many years ago since I have been a lover of this brand for a VERY LONG TIME NOW, you would arrive at the sale at the opening of the gate and you were not alone standing there waiting. There were treasures to be found everywhere and you would dig through tables of the red cardboard boxes that are surrounded by yellow ducky marketing hoping to find that one thing you thought you couldn't live without all while shaking gooey lotion or shower gel off of your hand. Yuck.
Your blue mesh bag would be filled to the brim with 75% off candles and other items and you would happily stand in line...a long line...for your turn to checkout and then share your find on social media.....where everyone would oooh and ahhhh all while talking trash on what you found.
See, fun stuff. :)
Now who does not love that? Right?
If you are fortunate enough to live close by Bath and Body Works Stores that have a White Barn store close by or attached to it, you are one lucky yellow ducky because you get the primo stuff that not everyone else gets at fantastic prices at this sale. Well, all year long you get that anyway with all of the home decor offerings to be had over regular ole B&BW stores, but I digress.
Okay, wait....let me get this out again for the record....June, 2018....I hope that one day...soon, B&BW brand recognizes the want of all of their customers to be able to have the same benefits that a select few now do.
- We would all like to "test" out signature scents and candles. Limiting your market tests to the same-ole stores only allows for jealously all over social media and high secondary market priced sales on Mercari and Ebay. Wouldn't you want a piece of that pie? Have you seen the prices some "failed" test candles are sold at? What is it about those few markets that tells you what is acceptable to ALL? Let's throw caution to the wind and add in some randomness. You may be surprised.
- Use your social media influensers to help test your items and let us help you socially. That Christmas gift sent out to me last year, as well as others, was incredible and generous and I loved sharing my thoughts with those who read me and the feedback I got was priceless.
- We would all like to be part of the "in app club" that we get to see others in the select LA and Chicago area share all over on social media. If you want to test an app, TEST it live for all who shop. If you want to check out the "bugs" it may have/get...infect us all.
- Open more White Barn Stores.
- Send more merchandise to ALL of your stores.
- Forget about sales levels and help the C level lower volume sales stores attain higher levels ( in your eyes) by giving them the merchandise to sell. How can they ever step up...without a ladder?
- Send the same merchandise to all stores. It is so frustrating as a customer to want something seen online or on social media and the local store never got it in.
- Take notes on social media postings as to what we want to return and BRING IT BACK. All of it. Dig out those old recipes of fragrances that will boost your sales and make them. Slapping a new label on the same ole Watermelon Lemonade Fragrance month after month is cute for the bathroom sink for summertime but please give us some new fragrances too.
- Don't drop the "wax candle" ball and keep the market full of fragrance people love and want to spend money on to fragrance their homes. You have some exceptional competition out there. Can I say HomeWorx Brand by Harry Slatkin.
- Celebrate all of the little things and the holidays. The thing I LOVE the best about SAS is that afterward we get FALL fragrance with HALLOWEEN included. And then the beginning of Holiday candle testing. Give us candles for the Fourth of July and make sure we, who have no access to a White Barn store, can have great Home Accessories too for all seasons.
- Give us coupons. Email coupons are great....but we do love some Bounceback store coupons once in awhile... Everyday I try to share the days email because so many of those who read me still Do Not get emails sent to them. And how can they shop when they don't know what's on sale?
Okay, I think I am done...for now. Anyway, back to the sale.
I planned to go for gate opening and like everything that you plan, you sometimes hit a bump in the road and it doesn't happen as you thought. My plans changed because I woke at 7am with a Migraine from Hell.
How can you be sleeping one moment, dreaming of tables of goodies and the next moment your head feels like it is going to explode? That is what I had. I couldn't see straight...or walk straight... It came from the back of my neck, up and around the top of my head and into my poor bad eye.
Fun stuff. It took over seven hours to ease up enough for me to move, stand up and drink some broth and I decided to try....try to go out of town 40 mi. to check out the tables at the Semi Annual.
Crazy, I know.
If you ever had a Migraine, you know that your sense of smell is heightened and works AGAINST you in every way possible.
If you have ever gone into a Bath and Body Works Store you will notice they SMELL of every possible fragrance on the shelf. Ha Ha.
The gals at my store saw me, and were quite concerened as I was as pale
as I felt. Add to that I am wearing a brace from my elbow to my wrist
and a sling on my left arm as the "tennis elbow" damage is not letting
up anytime soon....and I slipped off the sling to have two hands to
shop. Come on now, everyone knows you need two hands to shop...right?
Two hands to shop fun things....great things....fingers crossed.
Aw poo...none of that here now.
Very disappointing.
Not the stores fault nor the workers fault....again, it is what was left from the five months priors offerings and what they receive in shipping. { How about sending these C sales volume stores some test candles for sale? }
I walked around a bit trying to snap a few photos to remind me of what they had so I can check out my own stock and make a list for when I return to shop later this week. Migraine Brain is forgetful brain.
Sadly, there was Nothing Impressive. And I did not buy one thing. This first day visit. Shocking, I know.
I did see the Rose Water all over mist on sale for 75% off and when I put it in my bag I saw the line to check out was to the middle of the store and I did not feel well enough to stand in it for one item. I tossed it back into its box and left the store joining my husband on the mall bench outside. He was shocked to say the least. I have never left a SAS with nothing. Maybe because I didn't feel great? I think it was more the selection and pricing wasn't great. I will visit this store again soon and hopefully I find some treasure to share.
And, yes before I left, the Pink Chiffon red box had to be emptied and cleaned out from a shower gel leaker all over everything.
At least I had that. Ha ha.
Two hands to shop fun things....great things....fingers crossed.
Aw poo...none of that here now.
Very disappointing.
Not the stores fault nor the workers fault....again, it is what was left from the five months priors offerings and what they receive in shipping. { How about sending these C sales volume stores some test candles for sale? }
I walked around a bit trying to snap a few photos to remind me of what they had so I can check out my own stock and make a list for when I return to shop later this week. Migraine Brain is forgetful brain.
Sadly, there was Nothing Impressive. And I did not buy one thing. This first day visit. Shocking, I know.
I did see the Rose Water all over mist on sale for 75% off and when I put it in my bag I saw the line to check out was to the middle of the store and I did not feel well enough to stand in it for one item. I tossed it back into its box and left the store joining my husband on the mall bench outside. He was shocked to say the least. I have never left a SAS with nothing. Maybe because I didn't feel great? I think it was more the selection and pricing wasn't great. I will visit this store again soon and hopefully I find some treasure to share.
And, yes before I left, the Pink Chiffon red box had to be emptied and cleaned out from a shower gel leaker all over everything.
At least I had that. Ha ha.
So here is what I saw-
Not a 75% off candle to be found. All candles were 50% off and the round table had this on it. Sweet Cherry Pie is returning, but my store never received any yet.
Only one store in the district received the Active Line and it was over an hour away. I see some of the products did arrive here at the sale for 75% off now. This was the ONLY 75% off table in the store. Sad.
And a thought....why not launch the active line everywhere at 50% off to see how it fares....before SAS. I personally wanted to try it but did not want to drive over an hour to shop at a store where the staff is beyond rude to its customers.
The new Bath and Body Works Drink Collection of Candles....along with some Message Candles in the wall. I am all for Message candles being a core staple of shopping here. They make great gifts if the scents in each are coordinated properly to the name....and I would love to see cute gift bags for message candle purchases.
The Drink Candles were okay to me. Again Migraine Brain... Banana Split Milkshake smelled like bananas....to me. Good, yes but I mean, I have bananas on the kitchen do I want my house to smell like the skins in the garbage can? Migraine Brain said no. LOL. RootBeer Float....yes, rootbeer.....summertime soda pop...again all good scents but purchases will need to wait.
The label redo collection of bodycare. Fresh Coconut Colada, Watermelon Lemonade, and Grapefruit Freeze.
These three scents were on the back side of the other here today, clearance sale tomorrow body care scents that just came out. And sadly there were no complete four forms of each to make a collection of any of the other two....only the watermelon lemonade had the four forms found in three boxes.
These and the other collection with Vanilla Bean, Fresh Gardenia, Wild Strawberry Leaf, Blackberry and Basil were all priced now at 50% off.
The new Summer Handsoaps were in the bins marked $3. while the other handsoaps were marked 50% off.
Some old retirees from online only joined the party along with some scents from earlier this year including large bottle sanitizers and face masks for 50% off
Wallflower refill bulbs were priced at $3 too.
